Peter Kalm’s A Journey into North America
Peter Kalm’s A Journey into North America
In 1749, Pehr (Peter) Kalm, a protégé of prominent scientist Carl Linnaeus, embarked on a grand journey to the wilderness of the New World. Kalm was a naturalist selected by the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences to travel to North American in order to collect seeds and plants that would thrive as cash crops in the cold Scandinavian climate. He recorded his experiences in a journal, which was published in Sweden as A Journey into North America. Part of his travels included the Saratoga area, which he documented in his writings.
Kalm’s stay in the Saratoga area was brief, however, as he hurried through the borderlands between the British and French colonies in North America. The fort and the residences constructed south of Fish Creek had all been destroyed during King George’s War (1740-1748). He did make one important find during his stay: He noted that the red mulberry tree, significant to the manufacture of silk, did not naturally grow north of here. The Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences wanted Kalm to bring back seeds of the mulberry tree in the hope of starting a silk industry in Sweden. Kalm also noted the difficulty he encountered as he portaged around the Saratoga Falls.
Hudson Crossing Park looked to the experiences of Peter Kalm in its design of an outdoor recreational and educational resource that nurtures an appreciation of the environment and history, with the goal of inspiring visitors to make informed choices for a healthier community and planet.
Visitors are invited to explore the park using the Lakes to Locks Passage multimedia guide “Peter Kalm: A Naturalists Travels into North America”. In this PassagePort (www.passageport.org), you will hear little-known stories about colonial history, wildlife, and how Saratoga grew into the town we know today.
Pehr Kalm
A picture commonly believed to portray Pehr Kalm, although some contemporary historians have suggested it may be of Kalm’s colleague Pehr Gadd
Passenger Pigeon
Kalm was able to see immense numbers of wild pigeons in the area north of Albany, but the American migratory pigeon, also known as wild passenger pigeon, is now extinct.
Cohoes Falls
by Peter Kalm.
Red Mulberry (Morus rubra)
One of Kalm’s goals was to collect the seeds from the red mulberry (Morus rubra) from the northern-most place it grew. He discovered that it did not grow north of Saratoga.
